For Oyster Bay High School seniors, the college planning process is officially underway. Following a Common App Bootcamp hosted by the counseling department in late August, students continued exploring their options at the school’s first on-campus college fair of the year.

Nearly 60 colleges and universities were represented at the fair, held in the upper lobby outside the gymnasium. Students moved from table to table, gathering information, asking questions and speaking directly with admissions representatives about academic programs, campus life and what each institution has to offer.

The colleges represented reflected the wide range of paths available to Baymen after graduation. Long Island schools including LIU, Molloy, Stony Brook University and Adelphi University were joined by SUNY campuses such as the Fashion Institute of Technology, Binghamton University and SUNY Oswego. Students could also learn about out-of-state options including UMass Lowell, Penn State and Florida Tech. Representatives from the U.S. Air Force offered information about another path after high school for students interested in military service and career opportunities.

The fair gave students an opportunity to move beyond the college search on a screen and have real conversations with the people who help shape the admissions process. For many, those conversations can help turn a long list of possibilities into a clearer sense of what comes next.

The college search will continue throughout the fall, with another college fair planned for next week. The counseling team will also continue working one-on-one with seniors as they navigate applications while helping juniors begin thinking about their own college plans.

Later this fall, juniors will visit colleges as part of the department’s annual college trip, giving them an early look at campuses and helping them begin to imagine where their own next chapter could take them.